NOAA Fisheries Knauss Fellow feature: Meet Rachel Roday

A school of Pacific sardines. (Image credit: NOAA Fisheries/Dale Sweetman)

Download Image January 23, 2026

Get to know Rachel Roday, a 2025–2026 Knauss Fellow with NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Science and Technology!

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30 years and counting: How community science helps track humpback whales across Hawai?i

Ocean Count volunteers record observations of whales and other marine species from locations that offer panoramic and unobstructed views of the ocean.  (Image credit: Marga Goosen/NOAA)

Download Image January 22, 2026

This January, ocean lovers and community scientists from across the islands and beyond are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sanctuary Ocean Count—Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's signature community science and ocean education program.

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Sea Grant announces 2025-2026 fellowship selections

(Image credit: Sea Grant)

Download Image January 21, 2026

Sea Grant is pleased to announce the latest cohorts selected for two nationally competitive fellowship programs that prepare graduate and postgraduate students for leadership roles at the intersection of science, policy and resource management. Together, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship and Sea Grant’s John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship programs support early career scientists and policy professionals as they apply their academic training to real-world challenges facing our ocean, coasts and Great Lakes.

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A little goes a long way: How small programs are educating communities about farmed seafood (Part 2)

(Image credit: (Clockwise from top left): Gabriela Bradt; Saltwater Classroom/Austin Mills; Logan Willans/Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center; University of Maryland; Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group)

Download Image January 21, 2026

Community-driven aquaculture education programs are connecting communities to sustainable seafood—one classroom, kitchen, and podcast at a time.

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SWFO-L1, now 'SOLAR-1', reaches final position at 1M miles from Earth

An artist rendering of NOAA's SWFO-L1 satellite, renamed SOLAR-1, in its final position in space orbit next to a image of the sun producing a coronal mass ejection. Earth is seen 1 million miles away in the far distance on the right of the image. (Image credit: NOAA)

Download Image January 27, 2026 Satellites satellite launch space weather solar storms 0 Off

2025 Get Into Your Sanctuary photo contest results

his is where the ocean remembers herself. Second Beach, on the Olympic Coast, isn't just beautiful—it's alive with ancient rhythms. In this moment, the tide has peeled back the veil, revealing a world usually hidden beneath the waves. Kelp, rock, and water breathe together in silence. (Image credit: National Marine Sanctuaries)

Download Image January 15, 2026

Thank you to all the photographers who shared their view of national marine sanctuaries with us! Click each photograph to see the full version.

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How do you excel as a fisheries scientist? Reflections on a career with Senior Scientist Dr. Jason Link

(Image credit: Dr. Steve Ross et al, NOAA-OE, HBOI.; Life on the Edge 2005 Expedition | Dr. Cheryl Morrison)

Download Image January 13, 2026

NOAA Senior Scientist Dr. Jason Link was recently honored by the American Fisheries Society with the 2025 Award for Excellence. We sat down with him for a conversation about his career.

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University of Maryland students present capstone project reviewing marine debris policies

Litter such as plastic detergent bottles, crates, buoys, combs, and water bottles blanket Kanapou Bay, on the Island of Kaho’olawe in Hawaii. This region is a hot-spot for marine debris accumulation. (Image credit: NOAA)

Download Image December 19, 2025

Throughout the 2024 fall semester, students in Joanna Goger’s senior capstone research class at the University of Maryland, College Park, worked with Sarah Groves (NOAA Ocean Exploration, Science and Technology division) and Logan Kline (NOAA Ocean Exploration, Expeditions and Exploration division) to review and analyze the efficacy of marine debris policies in four distinct geographical regions.

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Ocean art at home: Color a seascape or learn to draw a deep-sea creature with Patrick Ching

(Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration)

Download Image December 13, 2025

Take a deeper look at some of the wonders of our deep-ocean seascapes and the unique marine life that resides within them through a new series of artistic resources created by natural history artist Patrick Ching. Born and raised in Hawai’i, Patrick is passionate about educating others about native Hawaiian wildlife through art and making the world a more beautiful place by helping people unleash their inner artist.

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Activity: Measure snowfall at home

Track snowfall totals this winter!  ???? ?? 
Create your own snow-measuring stick with our JPSS #STEM activity and measure the snowfall right in your backyard.
Learn more: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/.../jps.../activity-measure-snow (Image credit: Joint Polar Satellite System - JPSS)

Download Image January 23, 2026

This activity guides you on how to make a snow stick to measure snow with common materials in your home.

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Extreme cold expands as forecasters eye possible East Coast storm this weekend Get the latest from NOAA's National Weather Service

Snowstorm. (Image credit: iStock)

Download Image January 22, 2026

Forecasters at NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) continue to track the impacts of an unusually large and severe winter storm that brought heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to hundreds of millions of Americans over the weekend and continues into the Northeast this week.

Dangerously cold air remains in the forecast for more than half of the U.S. population through the middle of this week. The combination of significant snow and ice accumulations and frigid weather could cause power outages and icy roads to linger longer than usual after a typical winter storm.

Well-below-normal temperatures will continue for the eastern half of the Lower 48 states this week. Another blast of arctic air will spread from the Plains through the East/Southeast Friday into Saturday with more record lows expected even into Florida. Forecasts are being monitored for increasing potential of another significant winter storm to impact the eastern U.S. this coming weekend. 

Prepare now

For the latest on this powerful winter storm, go to weather.gov and input in your Zip Code or City, State to access hazardous weather alerts, as well as the latest forecast from the local National Weather Service office in your area. 

Visit NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center for the latest key messages on this winter storm and its impacts. 

Make sure you have on hand at least a few days worth of food, water, medications and other basic necessities for yourself, your family and your pets to sufficiently ride out the storm. Check out the NWS Safety Page for resources and tips on staying safe in extreme cold, ice, snow and other winter weather conditions. 

Stay connected on social

Join NOAA’s NWS on social media to stay up to date on the latest weather developments:

• Find @NWS on X , on Bluesky at nws.noaa.gov, on Facebook and on Instagram.
• Find and follow your local NOAA National Weather Service forecast office on social media.

More from other federal agencies

What FEMA is doing
https://www.fema.gov/2026-winter-storm

What the U.S. government is doing
https://www.usa.gov/2026-winter-storm

UPDATED: January 27, 2026. This article has been updated with latest forecast developments Weather winter storm severe weather forecasts 0 Off

NOAA to map critical mineral deposits in deep waters off American Samoa January 22, 2026

Polymetallic nodules, such as those shown here, can occur on the ocean floor and are of interest for the critical minerals they contain.  (Image credit: NOAA)

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NOAA’s National Ocean Service announced today a new hydrographic survey project to map and characterize more than 30,000 square nautical miles of federal waters off American Samoa. This project is part of the Department of Commerce's implementation of the U.S. Offshore Critical Minerals Mapping Plan as defined by President Trump’s Executive Order 14285: Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources.

“NOAA is proud to play a leading role in the President’s plan unlocking access to critical minerals for domestic supply chains,” said Neil Jacobs, Ph.D., NOAA administrator. “This project highlights NOAA’s strong impact on economic resilience as we invest in research that supports sustainable deep sea mining practices and allows partners to better understand their marine environments.”

NOAA contractor NV5 offsite link, a current hydrographic survey services vendor, will begin survey work in February 2026. NOAA will use approximately $20M of fiscal year 2025 funding to produce publicly accessible maps, images and samples of the marine environment off the coast of American Samoa. These products will serve to inform NOAA, other federal agencies and interested parties of the critical mineral deposits and relative prospectivity of the surveyed area. This effort will generate high-quality and transparent deep-ocean data that will help to increase the baseline understanding of the federal waters off American Samoa’s deep-ocean environment, and will stimulate further exploration, research and management projects, including activities related to deep sea minerals.

About deep seabed mineral development

Deep seabed mining is the extraction of nodules containing critical minerals from the ocean floor. Some regions of the deep seabed contain an abundance of valuable resources like manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper and rare earth elements. Critical minerals are used in everything from defense systems and batteries to smartphones and medical devices and are increasingly important components for American manufacturing. Access to these minerals is a key factor in the resilience of U.S. supply chains. Learn more by visiting NOAA’s National Ocean Service website.

 

Media contact

NOAA Ocean Service Public Affairs at oceanservicepress@noaa.gov

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